


The Blood Drop of Subcon

by Oiral_Insanity



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:33:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21671515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oiral_Insanity/pseuds/Oiral_Insanity
Summary: A year after the last Prince of Subcon Forest died and The Snatcher was born, a red dot appeared on the moon.And just as it had appeared out of nowhere, it disappeared several days later, only to return the next year. And the year after that.A legend was born around the red spot on the moon, that when the Prince of Subcon breathed his final breath, he shed a drop of his blood upwards to the Moon and stained it. The denizens of Subcon honor the Blood Drop as a period of mourning for their fallen kingdom.Today is the beginning of the Blood Drop's Mourning, and it's the Kid with the Hat's first time witnessing it. But a closer look at the red spot makes her reach out to the Snatcher.
Comments: 24
Kudos: 143





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Story will be cross-posted over on my Tumblr, oiralinsanity.tumblr.com

It was a rather dull day in Subcon Forest.

Well, if you could really call it a _day._ Sunlight was never much of a guest in this dreary land, filled with souls of the damned, lost, and fallen.

In the middle of the woods of death stood a hallowed tree, fitted with a shelf packed with books, an oversized lounger (Paired with a foot rest that was disproportionately smaller than what was recommended for said chair), and a small table draped with a red cloth, all lit up by a hanging gas fire chandelier (It was far more efficient and quieter than to drag a generator and wires for an electric one).

A large, snake-like shadow spirit sat in the cushioned chair, skimming through a book he nicked off an unfortunate Express Owl who'd wandered into his domain. The Snatcher wasn't very intrigued by the novel however, a Sci-Fi/Western-like Thriller about bounty hunters and a plot by a major black market manufacturing company to steal a formula for an advanced laser cartridge before it gets to the government. It was pretty hard for him to keep up, with all the science-y words and multiple characters to keep track of. Perhaps if he saw that alien kid, he'd offer her the book...

_For the price of her soul._

"Hey, BFF!!" The voice of a young girl broke the silence The Snatcher had enjoyed across the many centuries he had been dead.

 **"Kiddo,"** The Snatcher spoke, a tone of annoyance flowing in his scarred voice. **"What did I say about calling me 'BFF'?"**

"Well, according to the contra-" The Kid with the Hat spoke with the intent to bring up the contract made between them after she managed to beat him up, only to be interrupted.

 **"That contract was declared void when you began to alter the fine print!"** Snatcher spat. **"Besides, I don't have any more contracts you can sign away your soul for. So just get out of my forest!"**

The nuisance didn't pay attention to his order, and instead moved the foot rest so that it was in front of Snatcher before jumping onto it. "Um, I wasn't here to see if you had more contracts. I just wanted to ask you something."

The Snatcher raised a non-existent eyebrow. **"Why would you want to ask me a question? Ooh, is it about popping someone's head off? I'll answer that!"**

"No, BFF." The hatted girl shook her head. "I'm trying to figure out something that I sawearlier today when I was watching the planet turn."

 **"And what does this have to do with me?"** Snatcher leaned forward, his chin resting on his fingers.

"I'm getting to that." The kid said. "So anyways, I was watching the planet turn when I saw something happening on the moon."

 **"THE MOON!?"** Snatcher shouted in an attempt to show interest in her story. Obviously she must have seen the city on the moon surface, it was quite visible at night, especially during a rare new moon phase.

"Yeah," the kid spoke, clearly buying The Snatcher's false interest in her tale. "A red spot just started materializing!"

 **"Oh,"** Snatcher spoke. He knew what she meant by the red moon dot. **"We call that the 'Blood Drop of Subcon'. Only appears around this time of year for a couple days."**

 **"The legend behind it is as old as I have been the Head Honcho!"** The Snatcher explained. **"Accordingly, when the Prince breathed his last, he shed a drop of blood that fell upwards towards the full moon, and it appears around the time of his death. So every year when it appears, we hold a sort of mourning for the past life of the forest."**

"Huh." The Hatted Kid spoke. "Well, I got worried when I saw it, so I grabbed my telescope to get a closer look at it. And that's why I'm here..."

The Snatcher became confused. _What did the kid mean by that?_ He thought as the kid continued.

"I saw a ghost or something up there," the kid said. "They were wrapping some sort of red string around the area. And the whole reason why I'm here..." The kid unbuttoned their coat and rummaged through the inner pockets before pulling out a children's book and a piece of paper, slightly scuffed by a crayon drawing. "Is because they looked like the Prince."

The kid handed Snatcher the two items she brought with her, who accepted with shaky hands. The first item, the Children's book, was titled _The Tale of Queen Vanessa,_ and had a heart deliberately slashed on its black cover. Slowly flipping through its nine pages, he saw his past life unfold in front of his golden eyes. The literal last moments of his life were on these pages, and the Kid with the Hat had it in her possession!?

Which meant she knew who he once was as well.

 **"Where did you get this?"** The Snatcher coldly asked, malice forming in his voice.

"You know that giant time piece back there? The one that's frozen in time?" The kid asked The Snatcher. He slowly nodded, the anger boiling through the motion. "There was a Purple Time Rift in there, which allows me to see moments in history. In this type of Time Rift, I find these pages floating around, and collecting them allows me to see the story behind each area, like how the Mafia came to live in Mafia Town or how the rivalry between The Conductor and DJ Grooves began."

Snatcher then turned his attention to the drawing of the "Moon Spirit." The drawing showed some distinctive features of the being, such as its grey-blue skin tone (The Kid apparently scribbled a light blue crayon on grey scribblings), a Waning Crescent Moon shaped head, a bright red overcoat (One he distinctively remembered wearing back when Subcon Forest wasn't dreary and he was still The Prince) with yellow trousers (Which looked like it was cut short), and what appeared to be thick grey bindings flowing from the wrists (Which didn't make him feel comfortable whatsoever).

"Snatcher, is everything okay?" The Hatted Girl asked. "You seem to be breathing pretty heavy..."

The Snatcher didn't respond to her question. Instead, his hand began to tighten around the paper, crinkling and crunching it.

 **"Bring me up to your ship."** The Snatcher finally spoke. **"We're going to the Moon."**


	2. Chapter 2

The beeps and whirs of the Kid's Spacecraft was something The Snatcher felt uncomfortable listening to as the kid hovered the ship closer to the Red Spot. It was one of the reasons why he ultimately decided to stay in her bedroom the last time he was up here (With Advanced Contracts cutely named "Death Wishes" by the girl).

But right now, he had to be in the main control room, because he needed a close-up view of the Blood Drop and its creator, who thought that it would be a good idea to dress up as his old self.

Peering through the telescope, The Snatcher focused his sight on the red that temporarily covered a small part of the Moon's surface. And the kid was correct with her observation, it was in fact a web of red strings that were making the Blood Drop of Subcon.

 **"Hey kid."** The Snatcher spoke as he kept peering through the telescope. **"This is a very clean view I'm getting here, what's the magnification power of this thing?"**

"I'm not sure." The young hatted pilot answered, never taking her eyes off the window. "I think I threw the papers that came with the telescopes on one of the desks in the Engine Room. It's behind the door with all the smoke coming out of it."

The Snatcher took their eye away from the lens to look at the smoking Engine Room door. **"Kiddo, I don't think that's a safe thing to have going on..."**

"It's fine." The girl reassured. "It's been like that for a long time and I'm still in tip-top shape!"

The Snatcher looked back at the door, smoke still emitting from the cracks. **"Still, I think you should at least get that checked. Can't have the one person who defeated me die due to something she could of had fixed."**

The kid rolled her eyes. She knew the ship's ventilation system was designed to handle constant emissions of smoke.

The ship hovered over the surface of the moon, outside the red web's coverage, and the pilot got out of her seat and walked over to the glass latch in the window.

 **"Hold up."** Snatcher exclaimed, pausing the girl from opening the latch. **"What the hell do you think you're doing!?"**

The girl's eyes glanced back and forth between the latch she was in the process of opening and the long shadow noodle. "The same thing I always do."

The Snatcher was skeptical of her. **"Same thing she always did. Bah! Who the hell in their right mind would jump out while over 30 feet above a surface?"**

"Seriously," the hatted kid scoffed. "Have you seen me walk into your forest!?"

She was right. He had never seen her step foot into his part of the woods from the perimeter.

In fact, he never senses her entering his forest from the perimeter. She just pops up on his mental radar in the middle of his forest out of literally nowhere.

_God damn, she does jump from space!_

**"Kid,"** The Snatcher spoke, his hand rubbing his forehead. **"What is wrong with you!?"**

The kid shrugged as she opened the latch and stepped out onto the ledge. She crouched before leaping off of the ship and floated (Due to the low gravity of the moon) down to the surface.

The Snatcher stayed silent for a moment before he groaned and followed after her, making sure he closed the latch behind him.

The surface of the moon crunched under the hatted kid's feet as the duo made their way to the red webbings, hoping that the strange spirit hadn't disappeared in the time the kid last saw them.

The Snatcher felt a little off as he and the kid got closer, as if though there was a familiar energy radiating from the webs. 

**"Hey Kiddo."** The Snatcher stopped the hatted kid. **"Be careful when we get there, I've got a feeling that those webs aren't as fun as they look."**

"Aw~" the kid cooed smugly. "Is the big, spooky noodle reve-AACK!"

She was cut off by The Snatcher angrily hoisting her into the air by her neck. **"DON'T YOU DARE SAY WHAT I THINK YOU WERE GONNA SAY!!!"** He let go of her, not paying any mind to the fact that due to the low gravity, she hadn't hit the ground yet. **"Just because you defeated me twice in the battle for your soul, doesn't mean I've forfeited yet! I'm still going to get your soul someday, but I won't if you get yourself killed by somebody else!!"**

The kid stuck her tongue out at the shadow noodle. The Snatcher could have heard her mumble something under her breath as he floated towards to webs. **"What was that?"**

"Nothing!" The kid shouted as she picked herself back onto her feet.

The duo now stood on the edge of the webs. Looking out into the sea, they could spot that the spirit from earlier was still there, still stringing up the place with red.

The magic energy of the area were also off the charts, according to The Snatcher. Whatever the strings were designed to do, it definitely wasn't to make the place look nice.

"So," the girl with the hat spoke. "How are we going to get this guy's attention?"

The Snatcher looked around, hoping there'd be somebody other than the three already here (Nope, they were the only ones there). **"Hey kiddo."**

"Yeah?" The kid spoke, rocking a moon rock she picked up a while ago. She was planning to take it back to her Home World, since they didn't have any 'Gee-oh-lodge-ick-call' materials from this region of space yet.

**"Can I see that?"**

"No." The kid spoke rather coldly. "I'm taking this rock back home with me. We don't have any rocks from this region of space, so this will be the first. Get your own!"

The Snatcher was taken aback, for a moment. If he were an ass to the sciences, he would have snatched that rock out of her hands and did what he was planning to do.

But he wasn't.

The Snatcher balled up his fist and slammed it into the ground, cracking it so that he would have multiple shards of moon rock to choose from, while also scaring the kid. Classic.

The Snatcher chose the largest piece of moon rock from the pile and held it in the palm of his hand, admiring its size, shape, complexity...

And forcefully threw it into the web.

The vibrations of the forceful throw rippled throughout the webs, and it was enough to make it to its creator. The spirit perked up from the ripples and dived under.

The Snatcher and the hatted kid glanced at one another as they watched the spirit dived under the sea of red strings. The silence of the moon really didn't help out the situation as they hoped the spirit was making their way to them.

Suddenly, albeit slowly, the horn of the spirit poked through (Although it was more like "phased through") the webs. As the spirit slowly lifted itself out of the red sea, the ghost and the girl could now make his features more clearly.

 ** _"Which one?"_** The spirit spoke, his voice hoarse and soft. **_"Which one of you..."_**

 ** _"Threw. This. ROCK!!!"_** His eyes flared open as he screamed, weakly holding up the moon rock The Snatcher had used to grab his attention. Only the sound of the clinking of the spirit's shackles (As well as the tensing of The Snatcher) was heard between the trio as the hatted kid silently pointed at The Snatcher. The spirit managed to see this before the shadow was able to do anything.

 ** _"So it was you!"_** The spirit spoke angrily as he got up into The Snatcher's face, the clinking still making the shadow's form tense up. **_"Oh I have a word to say to you!"_**

 **"Not if I got anything to say about it,** ** _Faker!_** **"** The Snatcher spat.

 ** _"I'm sorry,"_** The spirit scoffed at the shadow. **_"FAKER?! What are you accusing me of!?"_**

 **"You know exactly what I mean!"** The Snatcher spoke. **"How did you make it pass Vanessa!?"** The Snatcher said with vile as he said 'her name'.

The spirit tensed at the name, as though he too had a bad experience with the corrupted queen of ice. **_"I never did. I died in her cellar over 700 years ago, chained to the wall!"_** The spirit spoke coldly.

 **"That's impossible."** The Snatcher grabbed at the spirit's collar. **"You are not Prince Avon of Subcon!"**

 ** _"IS THIS WHAT YOU ARE ACCUSING ME OF!?"_** The spirit shouted at The Snatcher. ** _"_** ** _I WAS PRINCE AVON CROXLEY OF SAILS DESERT, KING CONSORT TO QUEEN VANESSA OF SUBCON FOREST BEFORE SHE HAD ME CHAINED AND LEFT TO DIE IN HER CELLAR OVER A MISUNDERSTANDING!"_**

This caused The Snatcher to freeze in place, obviously silent from his old name, title, and cause of death being used by someone other than himself. The biggest issue, however...

Was the fact that he never gave out his full title to anyone. The only ones who knew were the old Sail Desert Royal Family (Now long gone due to a revolt 500 years ago that also destroyed any records including his name) and Vanessa (Who was in no state to be able to remember anything about him except that he was "Her Prince").

The Snatcher let go of the spirit, shock still going through his mind. The spirit brushed the dust The Snatcher transferred onto his red overcoat off and realigned it, the clinking of his shackles still going. **_"But it's been a long time since I last used that name. Nowadays, I've been calling myself 'The Moonjumper.'"_**

The Moonjumper finished adjusting his coat. **_"Now,"_** The Moonjumper spoke, his tone of disgust returning. **_"Who might you trespassers be?"_**

"Everyone calls me different names." The kid with the hat answered. "And my name is impossible to say if you don't have more than one vocal cord, so call me whatever you like."

"And that's Snatcher." The kid pointed at him. "He's a 'Soon-deh-ray.'"

 **"I'm sorry, a** ** _what_** **?"** The Snatcher butted in.

"He acts all mean, but he's really a softie!" The kid jokingly stated.

 **"That's it."** The Snatcher scowled as he picked the kid up by her cape. **"Go back to the ship and wait for me there!"** He then tossed her towards the direction of the ship.

Which was a bit awkward since, once again, the moon's low gravity made her sail through the air longer and slower than he hoped for. The two ghosts could also hear the kid squeal in delight as she flipped throughout her flight.

The Snatcher turned back to The Moonjumper, who still had his eyes on the hatted kid with confusion.

 **"Like she said,"** The Snatcher broke the silence. **"I am The Snatcher, current ruler of Subcon Forest due to the previous ruler's unfit nature. And the reason I'm here..."**

The Snatcher paused for a dramatic effect. **"Is because I believed you were impersonating me."**

 ** _"What!?"_** The Moonjumper shouted. **_"You cannot be claiming that you're Prince Avon, after accusing me of impersonating him, I AM PRINCE AVON!"_**

 **"I am Prince Avon Croxley, I can prove it!"** The Snatcher spoke coldly. **"I was born the fifteenth day of the third month in the year 1378 to King Bartholomew Croxley and Queen Consort Dina Falvix-Croxley. My favorite meal was bacon, so much so that Vanessa banned me from eating it. I performed in theatre at four years old, and continued until I was ten. At twelve, I began to practice Dark Magic, and honed my skills until I was sixteen when I decided to quit. At seventeen, I met Princess Vanessa and became betrothed the next year. I studied Law abroad in Cobbler Harbor at nineteen for 3 years before returning to Subcon Forest, where I stayed for several months before Vanessa mistook a coin passing for hand holding and imprisoned me in her basement to rot."**

The Snatcher had noticed that The Moonjumper's eyes procted in surprise at the mentioning of practicing Dark Magic, the only other thing never mentioned about Prince Avon Croxley. He got closer to The Moonjumper.

 **"The only reason I'm alive,"** He continued. **"Is because I had to put my soul into my shadow. So what I want to know is..."**

**"...How do you have my body and memories?"**


	3. Chapter 3

**731 Years Ago…**

Prince Avon Croxley was sore, cold, hungry, and tired. A misunderstanding with their fiancée ended with him being chained up against the murky cellar walls by her Golem Guards (Which even surprised him since they literally did not exist before) and her soul becoming corrupted and twisting her once sweet image into a hideous wretch.

He didn’t know how long he was down here for, as the only sunlight that made its way to the underground room was around the corner, out of his view. But that light was the one thing he wanted more than anything right now.

He just wanted to break free from his chains, run around the corner, and into freedom. He wanted to be as far away from Vanessa as possible. Hell, he wanted to go home to the Desert, lock his chambers, and never look for love again.

He couldn’t even feel his legs anymore!

He just wanted to leave, if only he could break through these chains…

Avon breathed heavily as he peered at his reflection in the murky waters below. There was no way he could remove the chains from his wrist.

 _Wait._ Something clicked in his mind. He remembered reading years ago about a spell, a dark magic, that could possibly allow him to escape the binding. If he were to perform it, he could transfer his soul into his shadow and escape. He just needed a way to draw the ritual circle in order for the words to have an effect.

Except his hands were chained, he realized. He wouldn’t be able to draw the circle at all, so the entire ritual was pointless.

Avon sighed heavily. _Everything’s pointless._ He thought. _I’m just going to die here._

A few moments passed before he perked his head up a bit. How could he have forgotten? He didn’t need his hands free to draw the circle!

He just needed his finger.

Years ago, he had performed another type of Black Magic on himself, that time giving himself the ability to conjure life-absorbing strings from the tips of his fingers. All he had to do was guide his finger along the dotted line.

With the wave of his finger, Avon managed to recreate the ritual circle on the floor. With a gulp of breath, he could only hope for luck to be on his side.

He mumbled the ritual words, so that Vanessa wouldn’t come down and stop him from completing his only chance at escape. After saying the final words of the chant, Avon blacked out.

**~~~**

Avon Croxley woke up, this time on the floor. He quietly praised whatever god was kind enough to allow him the chance to escape from death as he picked himself up.

Well, picking himself up wasn’t exactly what he did. He flopped backwards due to the lack of legs.

_Hold up…_

Avon looked down at his new body. He was as dark as a shadow, and his legs, well…

He didn’t have any. It was only just a long tail. He may need to attach himself to the ground as a stabilizer before he could properly learn how to hover with this new body.

His hands were also funky as well, only two thick fingers. Perhaps later he would figure out how to grow more fingers, but right now, he had to book it out of the cellar.

Avon looked behind him to see his old, now dead body still hanging by the chains. He lifted his old face up, to get one last glimpse of his past life before he left.

His old human face, now pale blue from the freezing cold had some streaks of blood coming from his eyes (And somehow defying gravity by flowing towards the jut of the jawbone) and mouth (Going down his chin). Avon drooped the head back into its original position and moved back. As much as he wanted to get his old body out, he didn’t have much time before Vanessa would come down to check on him.

With that, Avon phased through the trapdoor and into the cold night.

**_~~~_ **

Avon Croxley woke up to a blinding light, causing him to hold his hand above his eyes, the sound of the chains clinking as he did so.

This somewhat alleviated him, since he couldn’t move his hands earlier. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the white light before he checked out his surroundings.

Nothing. Literally nothing as far as the eye could see.

 _This wasn’t suppose to happen!_ Avon thought to himself. _The ritual was supposed to transfer my soul into my shadow! Why didn’t it work!?_

He attempted to pull at his hair, only to bump and scratch at his skin. _What did that spell do to me?!_ Avon fearfully thought as he felt his head.

Apparently, he now had horns as a part of his face, although the right one was far longer than his left. He looked down to notice that his legs were just…

Gone. He screwed it up, he screwed it all up. And now he was trapped in Hell, his punishment for the crime of attempting to cheat death.

He didn’t even want to deal with the fact that he had a blue tint to his skin.

**730 years ago.**

Avon Croxley floated about in the white hell he had been living in for god knows how long. Time didn’t seem to pass through this area, so he wasn’t sure how long he was stuck here for.

God, he was hungry as well. And nothing for miles that he could kill and eat. Even if there was, he couldn’t spark a flame to life.

He moaned in despair, the hunger taking over his mind. So clouded, that he almost missed the strange glitching occurring ahead of him.

 _What?_ Avon thought as he noticed the glitch in the white hell. _What’s going on here? What’s happening?!_ Knowing no better (And hoping it would take him away from here) Avon Croxley decided to pass through the glitch…

And found himself on a white, rocky plain. The sky was black, filled with stars. A view he hadn’t seen since he left Sails Desert, but far more clearer. He looked up, hoping to find more stars and galaxies, only to find himself in shock. And he realized where he was at that very moment.

Above him stood the Earth and her twin suns. The only thing missing from this view was directly underneath him.

He was floating on the moon.

This thought reiterated itself in his mind many times over. What the hell was he going to do?

Make a web, he supposed. He still had his arms and appendages, so his string magic would still work. If he could get someone’s attention down there, he may have a chance of coming back down there so that he could teach _her_ a lesson…

Especially since he could see that the land where Subcon Forest stood was now covered with ice. She really did lose it.

He hoped his people were ok.

**~~~**

A couple days, and it didn’t look that good.

The web had several holes here and there, and it really did a number on Avon’s weakening body. If he didn’t eat soon, he would starve before help even made it to him.

Avon looked at the Earth and shuddered. He knew he didn’t want to, but if he was going to survive, he’d have to. He pointed his finger towards the blue rock, making sure not to aim near either Sails Desert or Subcon Forest, and fired his red string.

He watched as the red string disappeared into the distance on its journey to the Earth, and he was going to have to wait. Like fishing in the ocean, only it was the entire Earth and he was fishing for people.

It took several minutes, but Avon finally felt a tug on his line. He released a few more feet of string so that he could wrap it around his “meal” before reeling it back up.

He pulled towards him a man, wriggling in fear from the sudden abduction by a red string. When he got into reach, Avon pulled the man closer by grabbing his neck.

 ** _“I’m terribly sorry about this,”_** Avon apologized to his victim. **_“But I have to-”_** Avon paused, putting his fingertips to his bottom lip. **_“My god, does my voice seriously sound like this now!?”_**

He glanced at his meal, still squirming within his grasp. _**“I apologize for having a minor life crisis in front of you, my friend. But I must do this for my own sake. Forgive me.”**_ Avon then slammed his free hand into the man’s chest and allowed his strings to flow and wrap around, draining the life force from his victim.

And he made sure to take all of it. Every nutrient there was in the body, he absorbed it. Nothing was safe, especially not the bones. Avon needed to make sure he drained every last drop until all that was left was scattered dust.

He cried for some time after the feeding.

**~~~**

Avon floated around the webbed sea, silent in his thoughts. So much into his thought that he almost never noticed that his red web was starting to dip.

 _What the hell?_ He thought to himself. He didn’t know what was going on, but if something got into his web, he needed to check.

And he wished he hadn’t.

As he got closer to the dip, he felt a force pushing him towards the spot. So strong, in fact, that he couldn’t float away from it. The pull brought him into the dip, and his attempts to claw out was met with no fruition.

And once again, he found himself back in the white hell he thought he had escaped from.

**729 years ago**

And it occurred again. He found himself back in the same situation he had found himself earlier.

So he tried again. Hoping that this time he could escape.

And once again he failed.

**727 years ago**

This was the 4th time he found himself back on the moon. He failed the first three times, let whatever God there was to let him succeed this time around.

**720 years ago**

He couldn’t apologize to his victim. He felt like it didn’t matter anymore, his humanity dwindling away.

**568 years ago**

Avon hadn’t really called himself by his own name for so long. Silence had been his only friend for so long.

Perhaps he could give himself something for his victims to call him by (As he has recently kept a couple of them alive for a few moments longer for conversational purposes), just so they wouldn’t realize his true heritage.

**565 years ago**

Moonjumper.

That’s the name he finally decided upon. It took him a while (He wasn’t sure how long time had passed in his white hell, could had been a month), but now he had a name to give to his meals.

 ** _“Moonjumper.”_** Rolled right off the tongue.

He kept repeating and laughing his new name aloud as he created his red web, hoping perhaps this attempt would be successful.

**507 years ago**

He hovered in horror as he saw the sight on Earth.

Sails Desert had smoke blooming above an area Moonjumper knew very well in his living days. The Royal Palace, his old home, was up in flames.

His past was going to be gone.

Moonjumper grieved the rest of his time on the moon. He made no wisecracks as he consumed his meal’s life energy either…

**384 years ago**

Moonjumper watched as the Earth turned, taking in its sight. He took notice to how Subcon Forest had been turning purple and dreary in its wooded area over the 346 times he’s seen it from where he hovered, while the old village and its nearby manor were still frozen over, never changing in appearance.

Moonjumper shook his head in disbelief. _How fucking long could that bitch live for?_ Moonjumper thought to himself.

A flash of light popped up below the frozen land and he glanced towards its origin.

A part of the forest was lit aflame. Moonjumper now had his misshapen face in his hands, laughing at whoever was running things down there, since it looked like they weren’t doing a very good job at it.

**134 years ago**

Moonjumper watched as strange cone-shaped things flew back and forth between the Earth and its moon. And he was fuming.

They now had a way to get to him, but nobody had attempted to reach out even once!? What a bunch of arses!

He made sure to string up two meals this outing. Perhaps that would draw some attention to his webbed signal on this white rock.

**17 years ago**

Moonjumper finally encountered a new being in his white hell.

It didn’t go so well.

Not that the new resident was dead, oh no. They just couldn’t understand one another very well. The strange, hunched black goop with white spots (Which looked as though they were his hands and head) made strange noises instead of words, and it irritated Moonjumper very much. So the goop man now stays far away from Moonjumper’s area.

**6 hours ago**

Moonjumper left the white hell once again, paying no mind to the strange house floating above the planet. While it was strange, he passed it off as some sort of advancement made on Earth. He proceeded with his usual business: he’d wrap up the area with his red strings, fish up another victim to feed off of, and then wait for someone to come and save him or until he got sucked back into the white hell.

It was like a second nature to him.

**5 hours ago**

As he got further into stringing up the crater he always popped out into, he noticed that something had launched itself from that strange house ship, hurtling towards Subcon Forest. Whatever it was, Moonjumper couldn’t care.

Their loss.

**~~~**

And now the ship was moving towards that forest on Earth. Moonjumper couldn’t make heads or tails of anything going on today.

 _Just continue on with making your web._ Moonjumper thought to himself. _Maybe someone else will take notice and come to rescue you._

**_5 minutes ago…_ **

Moonjumper felt a slight dipping vibration occur in the middle of his webbing, startling him.

 _The portal shouldn’t be open again, it’s too early!_ Moonjumper freaked. He had to make sure it wasn’t that.

He phased into his webs and flew towards the source of the vibration, calming down when he learned that it was just a chunk of moon rock.

That looked as though it was broken and thrown by something unnatural. He picked up the moon chunk and phased upwards to the surface, finding himself in front of a small hatted child and a large shadow spirit.

 ** _“Which one?”_** Moonjumper spoke softly to the duo in front of him, enraged by the prank they pulled. **_“Which one of you…”_**

**_“Threw. This. ROCK!!!”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somebody made a cameo.  
> I also made a mistake on the asymmetrical horns placement, so I went back an fixed it.


	4. Chapter 4

**_"So let's get this straight."_** Moonjumper spoke to the shadow version of himself. **_"The spell actually worked, except it failed to transfer the entirety of our soul into our shadow."_**

**"Seems so."** Snatcher replied, sipping on one of the two cups of hot chocolate the hatted kid brought to them. The two spirits had held themselves up in her bedroom, unable to stand the loud grinding of gears from the engine room next to the main living room.

**_"In turn, the part of the soul that made it into our old shadow became you, The Snatcher,"_** Moonjumper reiterated what the duo had managed to figure out through the lengthy conversation being held on the way back to Earth. **_"And the part of the soul that got stuck in our old body became me, The Moonjumper."_**

**"I guess so."** Snatcher commented.

**_"I don't know how we screwed that spell up so badly that it split our souls apart."_** Moonjumper rested his cheek in his hand. **_"There's been no such recounts of this spell ever splitting a soul between the body and its shadow. It was either the soul made it into the shadow or it didn't. So what happened?"_**

Snatcher took another sip from his cup. **"Perhaps the water messed up a part of the ritual circle?"** He suggested.

**_"No, that wouldn't be it."_** Moonjumper countered. **_"Screwing with even a part of the circle would destroy the process entirely. Neither of us would be here if that happened, so it must have been something else."_**

Moonjumper slowly sipped upon the chocolate drink, not used to consuming anything besides souls and bodies for apparently over seven centuries. That was one of the many things that stressed his mind at the very time, learning that literally 731 years had passed since he woke up in his white hell and that each escape were spaced a year apart.

**_"Say, how did you come across this ship and her captain?"_ **

**"Oh God."** Snatcher moaned in despair. **"Do you really want to know this story? It's truly embarrassing."**

**_"I do, I do!"_** Moonjumper exclaimed. **_"I must know how my shadow managed to come to my rescue!"_**

**"She's basically an alien."** Snatcher caved. **"Came from some distant part of the universe. From what I've been able to sneak in from reading her diary when she wasn't onboard, don't tell her, some Mafia Goon broke her window and caused her fuel source to fall down onto the planet."**

Snatcher continues. **"Some of her fuel fell into my territory, and she goes to venture into it. I got one of my minions to trick her into following them into a trap, and I managed to get her into signing away her soul for some jobs I needed done."**

**_"So why does she still have her soul?"_** Moonjumper asked his old shadow, having taken noticed to the odd inconsistency of his story.

**"Oh, this is where it becomes some major bullshit."** Snatcher huffed. **"After she had completed all of the contracts I had available at the moment, and let me tell you, I almost lost my voice due to how many times she activated my traps, I tried to kill her."**

Snatcher looked down at his almost emptied cup. **"I would have succeeded had it been for one of these flasks-"** Snatcher paused to summon one of his flasks of an explosive blue liquid as an example. **"Breaking like it was suppose to. Instead, she takes the unbroken one and uses it against me! And you know what turning blue does, imagine being permanently blue for a fucking battle!"**

Moonjumper snorted. **_"You're telling me that you got your ass kicked by a kid!"_**

**"HEY! IT WAS A GOOD THING TOO!"** Snatcher bellowed. **"Had I won, she wouldn't have been able to save both time and the world from this little mustache tyrant girl!"**

**_"I apologize, explain?"_** Moonjumper asked.

**"Sorry."** Snatcher spoke, realizing he forgot to explain the true potential of the girl's fuel source. **"Her fuel source, for some reason, doubles as some sort of time manipulative device. They're pretty much capable of rewinding time."**

Snatcher got up close to Moonjumper's moon face. **"Although for your sake and mine, I recommend not messing with them. That girl will kill you and then follow you to hell to kill you again! Fuck, she'll even fight the devil along the way if she felt like it."**

**_"_** ** _O... K...?"_** Moonjumper spoke uneasily. **_"Um, aren't you going to put that away.?"_** He said, pointing at the flask The Snatcher still had out.

It took a while for The Snatcher to figure out that the flask, which contained an explosive mixture in it, wasn't a good idea to keep out on a spacecraft where it could potentially blow a window out and suck all the air into the vacuum of space, and so summoned it back into his pocket dimension. All that followed was silence.

**~~~**

The automatic doors opened to revealed the young captain, arriving with an update. "We have arrived at Subcon Forest. Please gather your stuff and make your way to the main room to exit!"

**_"I'm sorry,"_** Moonjumper spoke up at the sound of hearing his old home's name. **_"Did you just say Subcon Forest?"_**

"Yep!" The hatted kid said sticking her tongue out playfully. "This is where my contractually obligated BF-"

**"FOR THE LAST TIME!"** Snatcher interrupted her. **"THAT CONTRACT WAS MADE VOID THE MOMENT YOU STARTED CHANGING THE FINE PRINT ON IT!! WE ARE NOT BFFs!!!"**

The room stood silent for a moment before Moonjumper spoke up and asked, **_"Can I be her BFF?"_**

Which caused The Snatcher to scream in anger. **"That's IT!! I'M GOING TO MY HOLLOWED TREE!!"** And with that, he floated furiously out of the spaceship.

The remaining two members of the ship watched as the shadowy spirit left the room. The hatted girl glanced over to Moonjumper, who looked as though he was nervous.

"Anything wrong?" She asked the moon-faced spirit.

**_"It's-"_** The Moonjumper stuttered a moment. **_"It's just been so long since I last saw this forest, I don't know what to expect."_** He watched the kid think for a moment, placing a finger at the corner of her mouth.

"What if I gave you a tour?" The girl finally spoke. "Show you around the forest so you can see what's changed, and I could possibly get a history lesson from a former resident of its brighter days?"

The girl made the last part of her suggestion as more of a plea, since most of the residents of Subcon Forest either remembered little of their past life, didn't want to talk about it (Or couldn't even speak at all)...

Or would tell her no when she tried to ask.

And she did not want try with Vanessa, not after having to go through her manor while under The Snatcher's contract.

That did remind her of something she saw though. While she was in the attic, she had noticed on the wall away from the Time Piece a pair of eyes and a toothy mouth painted on it, and they did look like that of The Moonjumper's. Perhaps the two were related in some way.

The Moonjumper looked at the girl. While he might be able to figure his way around the dark forest after a while of traveling throughout it, he could use a bit of a refresher course of the area.

**~~~**

"Boss! Boss! Wake up!!" A Minion yelled, waking The Snatcher up from a nap.

If there was one thing that could possibly top getting beaten by a kid twice (Officially), it was being awoken from a nap.

"There's a new spirit in the forest, and it's talking with the kid!" The Minion yelled, worried for the hatted girl's safety.

**"Is he wearing a red coat?"** The Snatcher asked his Minion, who nodded back. **"And does he have a moon-shaped face?"**

The Minion nodded again, confused at how their boss managed to know all this just after being woken up.

**"That would be Moonjumper."** The Snatcher sighed as he slumped back into his previous position before he was rudely woken up. **"He's a new arrival. Kid had to bring me to the moon in order to retrieve him."**

"The moon?" His Minion asked. "Why was he all the way up there?"

**"Apparently,"** The Snatcher explained. **"He's the one who has been making The Blood Drop of Subcon. Turns out, it was a freaking distress signal!! Who would have thought!?"**

"Then why did it always disappear every year?" The Minion asked, probably trying to understand the whole situation.

**"He kept saying something about a 'White Hell' that always sucked him back in."** The Snatcher answered, annoyed. He picked up his minion by the back of their hood. **"Now if you excuse me, SOMEONE WAS TRYING TO SLEEP!!"**

The Minion was slung out of the hollowed tree onto the dirt ground outside, skipping like a rock on the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snatcher says that Hat Kid officially defeated him twice, the first time being their first battle and the second being the completion of The Death Wishes.
> 
> Although, Hat Kid would tell you that she's defeated him 4 times in battle, and an unofficial fifth win for surviving 6 minutes around him while he was actively trying to kill her (By including the Advanced Contracts where she had to go up against him).


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna shout out to @slimespecter on Tumblr, because I'm about to reference the best line they've written on a Moonjumper doodle in this chapter!

Moonjumper had been following his hatted companion around Subcon Forest for a while now, taking in the changed sights since he had last truly saw the woods. Sometimes, he would notice dark figures with glowing yellow heads peeking from behind trees and rocks.

Those must have been some of the Minions Snatcher had mentioned earlier when he told him how he and the hatted kid met. They must be frightened of him, probably because he been in the time they had been around. Wonder where he even found them? Moonjumper thought to himself as they came up upon the most strangest sight.

 ** _"What the hell happened to the Clock Tower!?"_** Moonjumper screamed, taking notice to the destruction.

"Yeah," the hatted girl answered. "Even I'm not sure how this could have happened. Time Pieces have never been reported growing this huge, and the time flow had been severely screwed with. I told Tim about this, he's sending a team here to study and hopefully repair the damage..."

"...As long as he doesn't forget." She added.

 ** _"_** ** _That was the oldest tower in the forest,"_** Moonjumper moaned. **_"And a giant hourglass just destroyed it!! Simply terrible!"_**

He placed his head in his hands, the clinking of his shackles echoing slightly.

"Are you ok?" The girl asked. "Do we need to move on to another area?"

 ** _"The sands of time usually wears down its keeper..."_** Moonjumper went off, appearing lost in his thought. **_"...But sometimes it chooses to bring about an abrupt ending."_**

 ** _"In other words,"_** Moonjumper continued. ** _"TIME'S A BITCH!!"_** He screamed, thrusting his arms down to his sides in frustration.

"Ok, moving on!" The hatted kid spoke as she began to push Moonjumper away from the destroyed structure and towards the Minions' Village.

**~~~**

The kid and Moonjumper had made their way to the fork in the road, which led to the village on the right. Moonjumper, however, noticed that the bridge on the left was out.

 ** _"Say, kid."_** Moonjumper spoke up. **_"Why is the bridge out? Wasn't that where the village used to be?"_**

"Yeah, before Vanessa froze it up and killed everyone." The hatted girl remarked, causing Moonjumper to stare at her in shock. "I believe the bridge being out is to help keep Vanessa on that side, away from everyone."

 ** _"So everyone died during the flash freeze Vanessa created?"_** Moonjumper asked with grief.

"Ehh, kinda." The girl answered, shaking her hand quickly. "Apparently, they turned into Dwellers after they had died, like the ones over there." She pointed at the small group of masked spirits, floating about near an apple bomb.

They watched as one of them accidentally jumped into the apple, arming it.

 ** _"Oh dear!"_** Moonjumper winced, while the hatted girl remained unaffected. He noticed this behavior in her, and turned towards her. **_"Aren't you going to do anything?"_**

"Don't worry," the girl spoke just before the apple exploded. "This usually happens. Watch." Moonjumper glanced back at the scene to see the Dweller pop back into existence, as though nothing had happened to it earlier.

"And those minions you see around here," the girl carried on from the topic before the apple bomb incident. "Some of the Dwellers signed a contract with Snatcher, and he gave them bodies."

Moonjumper hovered in shock. _How the hell would this girl, who was probably like 13 or something, know all about something that probably wasn't even recorded in history?_

At least it was nice to know that his shadow half still cared about his people even in pseudo-death.

**~~~**

"Snatcher?" The voice of a small child slightly awoke the shadow spirit. "Are you awake?"

The Snatcher swooshed his hand towards the source, hoping to push away the noise so that he could get at least some more sleep for a couple more hours, just in time for the Midnight Schedule.

 ** _"I think that might be a maybe."_** The voice of the old Prince's body spoke up. **_"I was somewhat of a late sleeper due to law school, always studying and what not."_**

Moonjumper turned to the hatted child. **_"Perhaps you should leave us be for a while. See if any of his minions need help with anything."_**

The kid went off into the forest after saying bye to the two spirits, and now they were alone again. The Snatcher looked at his former body.

 **"Huh,"** Snatcher remarked, gaining a glance from Moonjumper. **"That's the first time she's ever left me alone by command!"**

 ** _"Command?!"_** Moonjumper shot back. **_"I was merely making a suggestion. She is a kid, you know, they don't take too kindly to being told what to do outright."_**

The Snatcher grumbled to himself. He never did like being told what to do by anybody, and normally would had either popped their head off or gave them a harsh job if he was still in a somewhat good mood (Or placed them on "Vanessa Duty" if they were one of his own minions). But to be told by his old body on what to do? That was something he was unprepared for.

The Snatcher was so caught up in his thoughts that he had now just noticed that The Moonjumper had created a small cot out of red strings across from his lounger, and was now reading one of his books (Something about a team of mercenaries attempting to hunt down a masked justice murderer who could hold his ground with ingenuity and deception).

 **"Excuse me, what the hell did you do!?"** Snatcher exclaimed, prompting the former body's immediate attention. **"Why did you desecrate my own living space!?"**

 ** _"I needed to rest myself, since I did tour the forest with the child,"_** Moonjumper answered his former shadow. **_"And you're sitting in the only chair around here, so I decided to make this for now."_**

 ** _"Besides,"_** Moonjumper continued, closing the book he had in his possession at the moment. **_"I need to know where I'm suppose to be living at, since I hopefully plan not to go back to the moon and that White Hell."_** Moonjumper shuddered at the thought of it. **_"And I believe the old Manor and its nearby village is off-limits until that bitch is dealt with."_**

 _He is right._ The Snatcher pondered over what Moonjumper had said. Sending him back to the moon after all he had been through was a disaster waiting to unfold, and everyone, including those under contract (Unless stated otherwise or placed on the aforementioned "Vanessa Duty" if they were an unlucky minion), was barred from even venturing across the broken bridge that separated his territory from Vanessa's.

Now that he thought about it, The Snatcher didn't really have an idea of where he could house Moonjumper since he wasn't actually expecting to bring anybody back. His minions weren't comfortable being near Moonjumper at the moment, mostly due to his similarities to the former prince who had disappeared and subsequently died sometime before Vanessa's Flash Freeze, so he couldn't really set him up in a house near their village. The burning section of the forest was definitely out of the question (He had accidentally scared a Dweller into a pile of Bomb Apples, which was gathered in preparation of a Vanessa Attack, when he figured out how to summon powerful lasers. He was lucky the aftershock of the explosion caused an avalanche to reinforce the ice wall that helped kept Vanessa at bay), and there weren't many houses standing south of the swamp. Really, the only place available at the moment, and The Snatcher really didn't like doing this one bit...

...Was his own Hollowed Tree.

 **"Well,"** The Snatcher grumbled to himself for a moment, using this time to confirm to himself that this was the best course of action. **"I wasn't expecting to house anybody this soon, so you might have to stay here for the time."**

He continued however. **"You are right about one thing though."**

This caused Moonjumper to raise a non-existent eyebrow. **_"And what would that be, Snatcher?"_**

The Snatcher smirked, glad that his separated half shared his thoughts as well. **"Vanessa is a bitch!"** He bellowed.


	6. Chapter 6

The Snatcher sat in his lounger reading one of his law books, pausing every now and then to take a sense of the time. The kid with the hat had already left some time ago to her ship, leaving Subcon Forest and its ruler some peace and quiet.

Well, somewhat. Tonight was permanently different than usual. This time, he had more to deal with than the occasional trespasser. He glanced at the newest member of the forest.

Moonjumper rocked in his hand-crafted hanging chair, still reading that book he had picked out earlier, paying no attention to the world at the moment due to the fact that this was the first time he had been a part of society in centuries. The sudden change in location placed some stress on the moon-faced spirit, and he needed some time to collect himself.

The Snatcher paused once again to take a sense of time, and then proceeded to leave his spot.

 ** _"Is there something wrong, my shadow friend?"_** Moonjumper spoke up, taking notice to the sudden movements around him. **_"You've been acting strangely for a while now."_**

 **"Ah, yes."** The Snatcher answered. **"It's midnight right now. That's usually when I go out and patrol my forest for trespassers and potential threats."**

 ** _"And how do you usually deal with trespassers when you find them?"_** Moonjumper asked, summoning a red string from his finger to act as his bookmark.

 **"Ooh, the usual."** The Snatcher said in a sing-song tone. **"I set up a trap and lead them into it. When they set it off, a wall of darkness and vines will surround them and I pop out of the ground, laughing before screaming 'Fool' to scare them. I belittle them for falling into my trap before..."**

The Snatcher summoned a piece of paper and a feather pen in front of Moonjumper, causing him to slightly jump in shock. **"I tell them that they just got the chance of a lifetime, and that they can leave this forest alive by signing a contract and doing some jobs for me, while I hold their soul as collateral in the off chance they attempt to bail from their contractual obligations."** The Snatcher chuckled. **"It could be really simple, such as delivering mail to my minions, or-"**

 ** _"Mail?"_** Moonjumper interrupted his shadow, confused by his mail comment. **_"Your minions still get mail?"_**

 **"Well, no."** The Snatcher explained. **"I actually sneak into some mailboxes and steal some of the mail, old habits die hard. It helps make my minions feel special."**

 **"Now, back to what I was saying before you rudely interrupted me."** The Snatcher coldly expressed. **"It could be as simple as delivering mail to my minions, or as hard as cleaning out the well. Only thing harder than that would be sneaking into Vanessa's Manor to steal something, which only one person has managed to complete that task."**

 ** _"And that was?"_** Moonjumper asked. To hear that only one person had managed to survive Vanessa in her own Manor _and_ steal something from her at the same time obviously meant they had to have been very powerful to have completed such a task.

 **"It was that nuisance of an alien kid, Moonjumper."** Snatcher groaned. **"The same one who managed to defeat me twice."**

Or they were small and crafty enough in sneaking past her like a little thief.

 **"Then, once the obligations has been fulfilled and the servant is no longer of any use to me..."** The Snatcher made a loud popping sound. **"Off goes their heads! I can get stuff done around the forest with no effort on my part and a free meal as well!!"**

 ** _"But you made a contract with them,"_** Moonjumper recalled. **_"And anytime a spirit, like you or I for example, draws up a contract with someone, the spirit is bound to following said terms and conditions of the deal once it's signed, no matter what."_**

 **"Look at the signature line and flip it over..."** The Snatcher commanded his old body. He watched as Moonjumper did as he was told, and listened as the moon-faced spirit read aloud the printing on the back.

 ** _"I hereby totally agree to do this Snatcher dude's dirty work."_** Moonjumper spoke. ** _"And_** ** _also absolve him of all injuries I will most likely sustain from this work. Also, I'll give up my soul. No take-"_**

The Snatcher watched as Moonjumper began to spiral into a fit of giggles from reading what the last line had stated.

 ** _"No takey backsies."_** Moonjumper barely managed to let out inbetween his giggling fit. ** _"Snatcher, are you serious with this? You managed to craft a contract that can allow a spirit to potentially bypass the legal bindings of a contract, and you decide to write something extremely childish!?"_**

 **"Well when you get your own legal contracts, you decide what you want to put on the back of it!!"** The Snatcher bickered as he summoned the contract and the feather pen back into his pocket dimension. **"Besides, there may have been one or two people whose souls weren't eaten in the end."**

 ** _"Really?"_** Moonjumper asked as the two began to leave the Hollowed Tree. **_"Such as...?"_**

 **"Well, one person that instantly comes to mind was this witch who I had signed a contract with about five centuries ago."** The Snatcher brought up. **"She knew a powerful Dark Spirit when she saw one, and convinced me to become her Patron. She's the one who brews the explosive liquids I use in battle sometimes."**

 ** _"The same ones used against you?"_** Moonjumper spoke, bringing up their previous conversation on the space ship.

 **"Regrettably."** The Snatcher shrugged. **"She told me it wasn't a good idea to use blue liquids as one of my attacks when it's one of my major weaknesses. So she had every right to laugh at me when I came to her drenched in it."**

The duo fell quiet as they patrolled around Subcon Forest, keeping an eye out for any potential trespassers.

**~~~**

The Snatcher held his hand up, stopping his companion in his tracks.

 ** _"Why are we stopping?"_** Moonjumper whispered to the shadow as he pointed ahead, in which Moonjumper peered towards.

Ahead of the spirits were two balding men in blue suits, both top heavy and scared of their current surroundings.

 **"Mafia Goons."** The Snatcher growled softly, revealing who the strange men were. **"They're strong, but extremely dumb and cowardly. And they always seem to find their way here for some odd reason, despite living on an island."**

 **"My usual meal as well."** He added. **"Prepare to watch and learn the hunt."**

The Snatcher waved his fingers at the ground ahead of the goons, summoning a circle of shadow thorns to lie in wait, hoping to be triggered. He then pulled Moonjumper's shoulder down low to the ground so that his bright outfit would not be spotted against the dreary backdrop.

They watched as the two goons stumbled about in the forest, having no clear sense of their surroundings or what dangers lied ahead, able to hear them more clearly as they got closer to the spirits' position.

"Mafia no like dark, spooky forest." One of them spoke to the other. "Mafia have no idea how Mafia even got here."

"Mafia must find shelter." His comrade spoke, failing to notice the trap now just feet away from them. "Mafia have seen red spot on moon. Mafia knows this bad time to be out in open."

One of the Mafia Goons stepped completely into the shadow trap and sprung it, scaring his comrade. A shadowy wall, palpable to the touch, grew around the trapped goon as his frightened comrade ran off screaming.

The Mafia Goon trapped in a world of shadows, looking around for an ever-dwindling hope of an exit out of his predicament, barely noticed that one of the shadows was increasing in size.

 **"AHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!"** The loud laughter that echoed throughout the air had already frightened the Goon into submission. **"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!! YOU COMPLETE AND UTTER IDIOT, YOU BLEW IT FOR YOURSELF!!"**

Meanwhile, the Mafia Goon, who managed to turn tail and run off, was jumping and ducking through the underbrush of the dark forest. After watching his comrade get trapped by the dark spirit of the forest, the Goon now just wanted to go to his home on Mafia Island, jump straight under his bed covers, and call in sick for the next week.

Suddenly, his ankle got caught on something and he tripped, flying face first into the murky dirt and ruined his blue suit.

The Mafia Goon picked himself off the ground. "What caused Mafia to trip?" He spoke with anger and confusion in his voice. "Things that trip Mafia must pay for its crimes!" He bellowed as he scanned the ground, only to be frightened by the sight of what had tripped him.

A red string, glowing with mysterious dark powers, similar to the horrible tales told to him as a young boy growing up. He had to get out of here quickly, as he did not want to be lifted towards the moon.

Suddenly, red strings shot out from above and wrapped itself around the Mafia's legs, turning his fears into reality. The strings then tighten and lifted him up into the air, smacking his head on the ground in the process.

Dazed from the bump, it took the Goon a moment to regain his senses, although he immediately regretted getting them back the moment he saw what was in front of him.

 ** _"Well, well, well,"_** The floating body in red spoke to the Goon, swaying its lower half in the movement towards him. **_"What do we have here? A trespasser in the woods?"_**

"Leave Mafia alone!" The Goon shouted at the being, swinging his fists at it in an attempt to maintain a safe distance. "Mafia will show you not to mess with-"

 ** _"Oh hoho!"_** The spirit laughed, interrupting the Goon. **_"You really think I would be deterred by your empty threats? I've seen many like you before, and let me tell you..."_**

Red strings began to grow from the spirit's fingertips, confirming the Goon's worst fears for the last time.

 ** _"They've all broken down to fear sooner or later."_** The spirit spoke sadistically before thrusting his red strings towards the now screaming Goon.

*******

The Snatcher was finished making a contract with the Goon he had managed to trap, and now had his soul for later consumption. Now all he had to deal with was the second Goon, who had managed to escape with his life.

 **"Moonjumper!"** The Snatcher shouted to his bodied companion. **"Where did that other fool go?"**

All The Snatcher met to his question was silence, much to his confusion. _That's odd._ The Snatcher thought. _I could have sworn I told him to stay put._

A distant scream rang out in the forest, catching The Snatcher's attention. _That sounded like one of the Mafia's!_ He thought as he flew towards its source.

He kinda wished he hadn't though, not after what he saw when he arrived on the scene.

 **"MOONJUMPER, WHAT THE FUCK!?"** The Snatcher screamed at his bodied counterpart, who had his strings wrapped around and piercing what looked to be a semi-husk of the second Mafia Goon.

Moonjumper looked at The Snatcher with discontent. **_"I'm feeding."_** He spoke in a monotone voice. **_"How else would I have survived for all this time?"_**

 ** _"It also appears that I already made a bit of a name for myself."_** Moonjumper added in. **_"They spoke in fear of my distress signal. Must be from all the years I had to fish someone from this planet up for a meal."_**

 **"He was mine!"** The Snatcher spoke, getting up close to Moonjumper's face. **"Any trespassers in my forest, my victims! That is the rule of this territory!"**

 ** _"And yet you were preoccupied with another."_** Moonjumper brought up, now reeling in his strings. **_"Besides, I've just finished with my meal."_**

The Snatcher looked to where the Mafia Goon's husk would have been to find absolutely nothing. No body, no clothing. No trace of there ever being a second Goon. **_"I make sure to consume every last part of my meal to ensure a full stomach."_** Moonjumper explained. **_"Which means you don't have a body to dispose of or a mess to pick up. Like they were never there at all."_**

The Snatcher looked at Moonjumper in disgust. The Goon was still suppose to be his victim, according to his rules. Moonjumper would have to be punished according to the-

The Snatcher smacked himself upside the head. He forgot to make Moonjumper sign any sort of contract when he had the chance, which meant he couldn't punished the moom-faced spirit for stealing his meal.

 **"God dammit."** The Snatcher mumbled under his breath before turning towards Moonjumper. **"When's your next feeding, a year?"**

 ** _"I'm not sure,"_** Moonjumper answered. **_"Considering that time is strange in that white hell, I don't know how long my hunger will be satiated for."_**

 ** _"If you are not down with your duties, I will see you back at the tree."_** Moonjumper spoke as he left The Snatcher by himself, allowing the shadow to ponder over how to make living with a second dark spirit possible.


End file.
